An entity (e.g., a corporation, a limited liability company, a partnership, etc.) may provide goods and/or services to a large number of customers (e.g., end-users, other entities, manufacturers, the public, etc.). The entity, therefore, may need to maintain a large enough inventory (e.g., manufacture, process, store, produce, engineer, treat, package, test, quality control, etc.) in order to provide the goods and/or services for the large number of customers. Additionally, the entity may need to maintain a large enough workforce (e.g., laborers, mechanics, metal workers, factory workers, drivers, associates, managers, customer service representatives, sales representatives, officers, directors, engineers, scientists, doctors, financial experts, lawyers, accountants, tax preparers, marketing representatives, bankers, etc.) to create the goods and/or services, to research and develop new goods and/or services, and/or to provide ancillary services related to the goods and/or services (e.g., manufacture, process, store, produce, engineer, treat, package, test, quality control, etc.) for the large number of customers.
Therefore, in order to provide a large number of customers with a variety of new and current goods and/or services and/or ancillary services, the entity may need to build, maintain, and network an infrastructure (e.g., a supply chain) of a number of internal sites (e.g., warehouses, manufacturing plant, processing plant, headquarters, shipping ports, service centers, distribution centers, offices, refinery, research and development laboratories, etc.) and a number of external sites (e.g., contract manufacturers, VMI (vendor managed inventory) sites, service provides, content providers, vendors, suppliers, trading partners, consumers, etc.) in order to maintain a large enough inventory and direct a large enough workforce.
Management of the supply chain of the entity (e.g., management of planning, production, materials, purchasing, inventory, sales, logistics, marketing, finance, human resources related to the provision of goods and/or services to customers) may prove to be a difficult, time-consuming, and expensive task. The entity may use certain information systems (e.g., SCM (Supply Chain Management)) to optimize the achievement of objectives of the entity. The supply chain may have to adapt to constantly changing market places for the supply of materials and the demand for goods and/or services. The supply chain may have to maintain, process, and analyze large amounts of data related to different aspects of the management of the supply chain. The Supply Chain Management information system and database may be updated, processed, and manipulated by information systems (e.g., MRP (Material Requirements Planning), ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning), etc.) of the entity and/or other related entities in the supply chain.
The Supply Chain Management information system may find it difficult to integrate and maintain databases and other systems associated with internal and external sites of the supply chain. Subsystems and machines of external and internal sites may have various descriptions of a supply chain data. The Supply Chain Management may only permit configuration and customization of the user interface and applications through the use of a technical programming language.
Poor supply chain management may result in disruptions and problems in the external and internal sites of the supply chain and provide inaccurate information and analysis of the internal and external sites of the supply chain. The supply chain management may be difficult for various users (e.g., employees, consultants, customers, etc.) of the entity to use, especially users with little or no technical experience. The complexities associated with supply chain management may to divert attention of users from more important matters germane to the entity. Poor supply chain management may increase the cost associated with the flow of materials in a supply chain.